For Myself and For You
by laykle
Summary: Resigned to a life of solidarity focused on his goals, William Vangeance never expects to meet anyone who could change his fate. Until, a certain dark haired man joins his Magic Knights squad. Yami x Vangeance / Slow-burn / As Canon-compliant as possible / Sexual Themes - RATING WILL BE INCREASED FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS


**Author's Note:**

As this is my first time publishing a fic I really look forward to feedback and reviews so I can make the story as great as possible, so please leave a comment if you have any critique (positive or negative)!

I decided to begin writing this because I found an alarming lack of fics with these two and so I figured it was time for me to finally contribute to my fandoms. It will eventually be adjusted to a higher content rating in future chapters so hopefully you will stick around ;)

Also, FYI I recommend following this story for updates since I am also working and in school so I will not have a concrete schedule of updates for you guys unfortunately. Anyways, I look forward to hearing from my readers and without further ado...let's begin!

**Ch. 1 The Forest**

The day after a heavy storm left the forest calm and peaceful as the light began to wake up over the horizon. Early mornings were always his favorite time of the day- it represented a fresh start. The breezy, dewy air blew through the feathers of his mask as he lazily strolled over the mild terrain of the outer forest.

As William saw it, each daybreak brought with it a new perspective, a new chance to be better today or at least try to be.

It was difficult for him, of course. Two minds, two souls with different feelings and thoughts and desires. He got swept away by all the clashing perspectives and ideas fighting to be heard.

Morning was the only time he found he mostly had to himself. Less noise, less static going on in his head. Though he sometimes wished he could be free, on his own, he was grateful for the lack of loneliness he was given. After being brought up as he was, the company was always welcome at the end of the day. And having thoughts other than his own was probably for the best.

Just because he wasn't necessarily lonely didn't mean he didn't want to interact with others. Rather, he didn't want the complications involved in getting closer to people and potential comrades. Though most people refrain in the beginning, William learned that they would eventually ask. Ask not only to see his face, but also _why?_

_Why do you wear the mask? Why don't you accept yourself the way you are? Why, is it because you don't trust me?_

Emotionally, along with the constant dialogue he has going on his head, William just cannot deal with it.

The way he sees it- is he has a goal. And all of that other stuff just makes it more difficult to achieve. They are extra steps that need not be taken. He's on his path and confident in his abilities. Plus, with the constant chatter in his head, he finds has no desire to speak more than required of him.

He'll continue to work passionately and effectively, and he doesn't need more than that. At least that's what has gotten him to where he is today.

And where is he today? Today, William Vangeance is on a mission that was requested by his Magic Knights Captain, Julius Novachrono. This mission was welcomed by William since he was traditionally given assignments only within the city walls.

Though he never would question his captain's motives, he was pleasantly surprised that he was chosen for this assignment.

Julius asked William to partake in a clandestine mission to oversee another Grey Deer newbie's training mission. Though he had heard rumors of this newcomer to his squad, he had yet to make his acquaintance. He was always busy and rarely met any of the new people that Julius recruited but the reputation of this new guy seemed to leave William at least a little curious.

He had heard only negative things about this rowdy, mysterious guy and so he wondered what had motivated his captain to recruit him.

_Was he like me? Another stray with too much potential and not enough drive? _

He wouldn't say his captain was so much involved in taking in charity-cases but… Julius radiated a sense of righteousness which meant that when he saw a way he could help make something better, he took it. _That's what he did with me…_, William thought to himself.

The mission this newbie, Yami, was to partake in is to investigate a string of bandits that have been plundering local harvests and stealing valuable goods from neighboring towns. He was also instructed to use these experiences to learn and train his abilities more. Simple enough that William would never be assigned to it, and nonetheless, he didn't require much training himself.

William continued making his way towards the designated area, taking his time since he didn't have to be there until nightfall.

_This world is full of beautiful things, wouldn't you agree?_ The voice in his head awakens and ponders as Williams eyes scan the treetops as the new morning sun shines brightly through the scattered leaves. _It's a shame it's been wasted by these pitiful and selfish beings,_ the voice continues.

William thinks back, _I suppose the gracefulness of this world may not be deserved of any living creature._ That kept his old friend thinking long enough to release William of the conversation.

(Meanwhile)

Yami was hungry and tired. He had been searching the forest for a whole night and came up short of any rations. It was afternoon the next day and his stomach grumbled in discontent.

His biggest problem was the change of environment in this kingdom. Hunting, easy. Fishing, easy. Survival, easy. But not so much here in this new land that he was apparently still getting accustomed to. The types of trees were very different and the animals as well. So all his basic hunting skills needed to be refined to accommodate the way the wildlife reacted on this continent.

"Ugh." The man stated as he rose from the makeshift bed he made in a small patch of soft grass within a secluded area on the edge of the forest. _Though it's gonna be a pain, I guess fishing for my next meal would be best if I don't plan on dying out here,_ Yami grunted mentally.

Yami had been fishing for sometime, with no success, when he noticed a presence behind him.

An older man approached him hesitantly, inquiring if he was a Magic Knight… which he supposed he is now.

After offering up food and rest, Yami listened to the struggles the old man's town is facing with the bandits and agreed to help out. _Kicking some ass right now would be a good change of pace. _

Since becoming a Magic Knight under Julius, Yami had accepted any mission given to him in an effort to be useful. He had some skills, he would admit, and it would be a shame if he couldn't help out a few people with them. If there was food and sleep involved in the payment, all the better for him.

Yami attentively listened to the intel the townspeople had and decided that he would strike back at night when the bandits were most likely to attack.

It was almost nighttime now, a very late afternoon twilight lit up the sky in the forest and William had just arrived on the outskirts of a small town. Though he wasn't completely certain, he guessed that this would be where he would find the subject of his mission.

It had been all day since he had eaten and he finished the rations he brought earlier in the day. Fishing would be his only rational option at this time of dusk considering he was trying to be as clandestine as possible.

Following the sound of a calm river, William walked along the edge of the rustling leaves of the forest in the windy, warm night breeze. What seemed to be a small nest of leaves in the shape of a bed was just visible in an empty patch of ground from where he was standing. _Not very conspicuous are we? Or are you just that confident in your abilities? _he pondered.

Confident or not, it was Williams duty to oversee what this man is doing and so sat down on a rock and began fishing. He resigned to his fate tonight- _it's going to be a long night._

Nighttime had completely washed over the small rural town and surrounding forest. The only sounds William could hear were the bristling leaves and small, constant chirping of small bugs. Other than the voice in his head to remind him he was never alone, it felt calm and solitary being out near the middle of nowhere.

No bustling crowds of people; chatting, running, arguing, laughing with each other. The city never afforded him a thorough sense of serenity as he felt now.

That serenity was broken as soon as the thought crossed his mind. Something just landed with a large _CRASH_ about less than a quarter mile away, towards the heart of the forest.

Getting up swiftly, William brushed off his pants and began running towards the scene hoping that whatever it was would not require his intervention. He was always good at spying because he was capable of suppressing the presence of his mana quite well.

Reaching the source of the noise fairly quickly, William peeked around the corner of one of the larger trees to observe the situation. _Over forty men, maybe more who continue coming, one man on mount, likely the leader, and his subordinate, and…that must be our knight in the center, Yami. _

William's first reaction was moderately impressed by the man. There were about thirty men taken down and seeing as he was acting alone, it was a miracle he had yet to slip up and get caught. He observed Yami continuing to slash down the massive army of bandits until eventually he became surrounded.

For a split second, the dark man in the middle appeared to assess the situation he was in before immediately taunting the bandits with a conviction William had rarely seen before.

"Guess all I can do is kick your asses!" the dark haired man screamed before charging at them.

Staring off well it was only a few moments before the bandits sent concurrent magical blasts towards the man.

Before he could even think, William took his chance to assist the amusingly confident man and summoned a large tree right behind the man's back to block an oncoming barrage by the bandits.

Confusion was prevalent on the man's face as he realized that this seemingly random tree just emerged to block the attack set in motion by the enemy. _Now that face is quite amusing, _William smirked to himself, _I could get used to seeing that._

The bandits seemed just as baffled, sure that where there stood a huge tree there was not one moments ago.

Without hesitation, the man jumped over the top of the tree and slashed a dark magic attack at the offending bandits, taking them out. _Well now I've gone and done it, so much for clandestine efforts..I suppose I should probably introduce myself,_ William thought to himself.

Walking out from behind the tree he just sprouted, Yami directs his attention towards him and screams out, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm no one suspicious." William calmly spoke. He walked over towards the large man giggling at his mistrust.

"Everything about you is suspicious!" the man screamed back. William just simply giggled in response. The man was so befuddled that he let his guard down a second time offering William the chance to prove he is there to help by blocking another attack on Yami's back.

"Yami, is it?" William finally answered, "I'm counting on you to watch my back." _After all I've only protected yours twice now. _

_Time to get more serious_. Standing around and chatting wasn't going to rid them of their bandit problem.

"Huh? How do you know who I am?" Yami said continuing to seem more confused. With a _tsk_ he must've realized that William had decided to focus and he wouldn't be receiving a response. He resumed his focus on the bandits and immediately resumed attacking the bandits.

William stood by playing support for this round, focusing on growing his trees to defend as Yami slashed the remaining enemies. After holding quite a few hostage in the tree roots, it finally appeared the two of them had taken all the grunts out.

_Is this what having a partner in battle is actually like? _William wondered. He had very rarely worked with others on missions due to his sheer skill but working with Yami seemed to just work really well. The man appeared rough and brute, but his movements were intentional and well-executed. As much as he hated to admit it, they seemed to be in sync with each other.

"The only ones left…" William began to say. "…are you bastards!", Yami screamed to finish his sentence as he charged towards the leader and his subordinate.

William tried his best to quickly grab the man with his vines before he transported through the portal, but it seemed both of them missed him before he escaped. Instead, William opted for holding the abandoned subordinate as to not let him get away from Yami.

William watched as the man angrily beat on the subordinate, attempting to gather as much intel as possible but with no success. Yami didn't visibly display his disappointment but William could tell he blamed himself for allowing the boss to escape.

"Looks like the bandits' boss got away, but we managed to round up the rest of them. Now this village and the ones nearby probably won't be attacked for a while," William assured the man.

Yami agreed but redirected his attention towards William, which he found highly amusing. "By the way you still haven't answered me," Yami stated matter-of-factly, "I asked you earlier. How the hell do you know who I am?"

"Oh, that. You're quite famous. The wild guy from a foreign country who was chosen to be a Grey Deer." William also answered back matter-of-factly while quickly scanning the man. _Though he appears confident, he is definitely hesitant to trust others_, William thought to himself.

"Oh? And who the hell are you?" the man returned to his questioning of William's presence while removing his cigarette from his mouth, giving him a "you better answer me seriously this time" look.

_Well that is an interesting question but…_"I am a member of Grey Deer too," William replied, "though most of my missions are within the royal capital, so this is the first time we've met. I happened to be nearby on another mission today." William lied not wanting to expose Julius's intentions for looking after the man.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I did hear about some guy with a weird mask who joined the squad. I guess that's you," Yami returned.

Though he briefly sighed, William wouldn't let this man just get away with his rude commentary. Holding his hand up to his precious mask he replied, "Calling it weird is quite mean. A very special person gave me this mask."

"A special person, eh? Special or not, it's definitely weird. Who gave you that thing?" Yami stated not backing down.

William was amused by Yami's insistence, but was not going to just give this man his life story right here and now. "Who, indeed?" William smiled.

Yami's face remained confused but he seemed to drop the topic catching on to the fact that he wasn't going to get many answers.

Attempting to keep this mysteriousness about the conversation, William started, "Well, I suppose I should be bringing these guys back to the capital to pay for their crimes. It's a good thing we were able to capture most of them."

"…" Yami grumbled to himself and then said, "and I'll be heading back into town to inform the town that they should be safe for the time being, at least for now."

William smiled. The man seemed as if he had more to say. William usually didn't like to assume, but something about the fight had him feeling cheeky and so he smirked and said, "Well, I'm just glad I was able to assist without getting in your way."

This seemed to displease the man and he grumbled again. "I guess I'll see you around…" Yami said as he turned towards the village and raised his hand in a wave.

The next morning, William returned to the forest early to ensure he would catch Yami before he was headed off. _Julius needs an update of course_, William convinced himself. Since the night before, he was having difficulty admitting he was intrigued by the idea of running into Yami again.

Seeing dark hair and a sitting figure on the edge of the river, William approached as quietly as possible.

Suddenly the same hand that waved him off last night was raised yet again, this time with what seemed to be bread roll in it. "You want one?" Yami said out loud, seemingly calling out William.

_Decent at detecting others' presences, _William noted, assuring himself that the man would be fine out on his own. "I'll pass. You're the one that village hired, not me."

"All right, then," Yami replied, returning to eating his rolls.

"What are you going to do now?" William needed to actually perform some intel if he was going to report back to Julius.

"Continue my training," Yami answered. He finally turned his head to look back at William who stood behind him. "Wanna tag along?"

_He seems less hesitant than last night, I wonder why…_William thought to himself. The thought of traveling and training with the man excited him. After all, they worked great together. And being with another strong knight would only help him build his skills. _But, I….I cant…I couldn't…I am better off on my own._

"I'm sure a lot of interesting things would happen if I went with you," slightly giggling William continued, "but I'll pass. I have my own mission. I will follow my own path." William decided that he should probably head out before any other crazy ideas passed through his head. "Farewell."

"Sure." Yami was quick to respond. William stopped walking away.

_He sounds slightly disappointed, does he not?_ William thought to himself. _I suppose I've disappointed even myself…_ William decided that he should not just leave it at goodbye. This was the only time he had ever felt connected to another person other than Julius, and something about walking away without more seemed wrong.

"You and I…" he started, "though our paths may differ now, I'm sure we'll eventually end up on the same path." William sensed the strength that Yami had and his sheer determination. Yami was fighting for the same things as him and he just knew that they would meet again. _He had hoped they would._

"The same path?" Yami now seemed confused again.

William turned back and gazed once again into the dark eyes of the other man behind him. _The same path._ The look in his eyes must have reached the man because he gazed back with a smile of understanding.

Standing up and facing him, Yami seemed more confident now. "In that case… I guess that makes you my rival."

William smiled internally. He had never had a rival, or a friend for that matter but the notion excited him once again. "First, I'm going to become a Magic Knights Squad captain…before you do."

The man was giving him the silliest smile but his eyes were filled with passion. Passion and…adoration. "Please, like I'd lose to you."

"Looks like the challenge is on. Let's see who can do it first." William realized he had never smiled so frequently before then he had these past two days. Giggling again, he began to walk off.

"Hey! Weird mask guy. You never told me your name." Yami shouted after him.

"Vangeance. William Vangeance."

"Vangeance? Even your name is weird," Yami smiled to himself.

"Let's meet again, Yami." The words left his mouth before he could question them.

"Yeah. Well I guess I should get going, too." Yami replied.

Though he continued walking this time, heading back to the capital to report to Julius, William noted that his trek back felt different. He felt lighter…he felt excited. The next week would prove to be uneventful, but each moment brought with it the possibility of seeing Yami again. And even that small thought made each day a little bit easier.


End file.
